Evelyn Sempier, former Miss America from Pa., dies

Evelyn Ay Sempier, 75, Miss America 1954, the only Miss Pennsylvania to gain the national title, died Saturday at her home in Malvern.

Before her, the national title had gone to four Pennsylvanians - to Miss Philadelphias in 1924, 1936 and 1940 and to a Miss Pittsburgh in 1935, according to the web site www.infoplease.com.

A Philadelphia native and an Ephrata resident, Evelyn Margaret Ay was a 20-year-old junior at the University of Pennsylvania when she arrived in Atlantic City on September 7, 1953.

A newspaper reported that she arrived "too late to pose for a group picture or to meet Eddie Fisher, the Philadelphia crooner who will be grand marshal of tomorrow's Boardwalk Parade."

The report did not say whether it was noticed that that might have been an omen - that her absence immediately set her apart from all the others.

" 'Oh, my,' she gasped. 'I've never seen so many beautiful girls,' " the story reported.

"Evelyn is an impressive beauty herself," the story noted. "She's five feet eight inches - one of the tallest girls in the pageant.

"For the first time since 1935, there was no separate entry from Philadelphia."

A life celebration for Mrs. Sempier is planned for 1 p.m. Tuesday, at Paoli Presbyterian Church, 225 S. Valley Road, Paoli.